Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Google embarks with newspapers on "The Living Story Project" ... Comcast is poised to take a controlling interest in NBC ... and, was the news of Tiger Woods' indiscretions news to golf journalists? Panelists: Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis, Marty Steffens.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The media's handling of the "Balloon Boy" hoax ... the U.S. Chamber of Commerce gets "punked" by The Yes Men ... and, the New York Times' staff contracts even further. Panelists: Mike McKean, Charles Davis, Rod Gelatt.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Controversial "muzzling" as the White House takes aim at Fox News ... California cracks down on paparazzi ... and St. Louis University cancels a David Horowitz appearance. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Fallout from the David Letterman extortion plot and sex scandal ... the FTC's insistence on disclosure among bloggers who are paid endorsers ... and, mid-Missouri media coverage of a high school student's suicide. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

A new study takes the measure of public skepticism about the media ... have the mainstream media under-covered the ACORN sting? ... and, will people consume news via eReaders? Panelists: Mike McKean, Marty Steffens, Rod Gelatt.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

A book about the controversial Muslim cartoons fails to include the cartoons themselves ... the family of a mortally wounded Marine objects to published pictures of his last moments ... and, a campaign finance case reaches the Supreme Court. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

A lack of live coverage of wildfires in L.A.? ... media pundits and White House press staff butt heads over the issue of health care ... and, a ratings system determines which journalists are embedded with U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

Friday, August 21, 2009

As one listens to the Republican anger over health care reform, one can imagine an anti-government protester cheerfully paying premiums on insurance policies that cancel you for making a claim, or happily sauntering out of an emergency room that denied them treatment because of a coverage problem. One can imagine a town-hall sign-waver enthusiastically forking over most of their pay to bill collectors after suffering a catastrophic injury, thinking, “Wow, the free market system is great.”

No, Republicans are just as affected by health care inequities as anyone else, especially the working class Republicans who show up armed and dangerous at America’s town hall meetings on the topic. The accounts of denial of health care that were a part of last year’s campaign? It wasn’t only Democrats who talked of losing loved ones due to the shenanigans of insurance companies. Republicans, too, cried real tears at the injustices.

So what’s this all about then? The down-with-government shrieking at the town hall meetings, the gun-toting visits to Obama events, the insistence that Obama’s health care reform is inspired by the devil himself? It’s about shock. The shock of no longer being in power. Every President since JFK has been either conservative or a Southerner. Every single one. These folks have had it their way for decades. And they don’t want to share. You have my permission to publish this letter.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Remembering the self-styled "Prince of Darkness," Robert Novak ... media coverage of health care initiative protests ... and, did a state agency cover up information about bacteria in the Lake of the Ozarks? Panelists: Mike McKean, Charles Davis, Lee Wilkins.

A remembrance of Walter Cronkite, and a look at how his legacy has fared ... the financial health of the magazine industry ... and, who is better informed: a consumer only of the local newspaper, or only of online news? Panelists: Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis, Amanda Hinnant.